Istanbul's Haghia Sophia: Angel's Face Uncovered

ANKARA, Turkey — Restoration workers have uncovered a well-preserved, long-hidden mosaic face of an angel at the former Byzantine cathedral of Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, an official said Friday.

The seraphim figure – one of two located on the side of a dome – had been covered up along with the building's other Christian mosaics shortly after Constantinople – the former name for Istanbul – fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and the cathedral was turned into a mosque.

The mosaics were plastered over according to Muslim custom that prohibits the representation of humans.

Some of the mosaics were revealed when the domed complex was turned into a museum in 1935, but the seraphim had largely remained covered, Ahmet Emre Bilgili, who heads culture and tourism affairs in Istanbul, told The Associated Press.

Two Swiss architects saw the two seraphim during restoration work ordered by the Sultan in the mid-19th century but the figures were covered up again, Bilgili said.

"It is the first time that the angel is being revealed," he said, adding that the figure had been covered with metal and plaster. "It is very well preserved."

Experts would now work to uncover the second seraphim, which was also plastered over and covered by metal, Bilgili said.

The newly uncovered image was hidden behind scaffolding and is not currently visible to visitors.

Haghia Sophia, also called the Church of Holy Wisdom, was built in 537 B.C. and remained a symbol of Byzantine grandeur until Istanbul was conquered by Muslim armies.

The structure was then turned into a mosque – minarets were added and crosses and other Christian symbols were defaced. It became one of the most renowned mosques of the expanding Ottoman Empire.

The site was later converted to a museum under the secular reforms of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, attracting thousands of visitors each year.

President Barack Obama toured Haghia Sophia when he visited Turkey in April, as did former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1999. Pope Benedict XVI also strolled the site in 2006 of his pilgrimage of landmarks of Christianity's ancient roots in Turkey.

Comments

[ranchero42]

Uh, excuse me! How could a Christian church be built 537 years before the birth of Christ? I know written history and the New Testament don't seem to match up anywhere, but this is ridiculous.

[Kynn]

The Haghia Sophia was finished in 537 A.D.

The author just screwed up A.D. and B.C., so you can calm down now.

[AERO]

Maybe it was built for Mithras, who also was also believed to born of a virgin on Dec 25th, was sacrificed for man's sins, and rose from death, and had a symbol of a cross. Except the religion of Mithras predates Christianity by several centuries.

[email]

That must be the face to Count Draculla!

[larry278]

The Emperor Constintine may have been a Roman but the form of Christianity practiced in the Byzatian(sp) region was influenced by Greek Christians & came to be called Orthodox Christianity after Constentine died. Yes, there was a scism between Roman & Orthodox Christianity & other instances of un-Christian conduct. The city Constintine improved was called Istanbul when the Muslims took it. Since I've become a Protestant of an ultra-liberal persuasion after I left the Roman Catholic persuasion, I can't explain or understand that which drove the Roman Catholic & Orthodox Christians apart.
I'm one of those former RC's who avoid speaking of RC affairs. It's difficult to become a former RC & not speak of RC practices in a hostile (or bigoted) way. There's enough religious strife in the world so I don't speak of RC practices. That is the task of scholars of comparative religion who can avoid overt bigotry, not zealots of my ilk. I'm not up to the challenge. You're blessed if you find an unbiased student of comparative religions. Count yourself fortunate & wise if you run across such a scholar.

[KansasWrangler]

Istanbul?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4phHwSSing&feature=PlayList&p=16156D63CC0ADCC7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=103

[situationcritical]

I spent a month shooting in Instanbul. I went to the Haghia Sophia to shoot photographs as part of a team for The Discovery Channel. The general feeling I got from going to The Blue Mosque and other religious landmarks was a sense of godlessness, and loss of spirituality.

Regardless, I loved Turkey. The food was incredible. There were many handsome, rugged, dark olive-skinned men with black hair and the bluest and greenest eyes I've ever seen. They packed into the streets and bazaars at all hours of the day and evening.

Surprisingly, the lack of young women on the street frightened even me -- not to mention the policemen walking around with machine guns and the occasional submarine drifting by on the Bosphorous.

[militantlibrarian]

"The general feeling I got from going to The Blue Mosque and other religious landmarks was a sense of godlessness, and loss of spirituality." I am intrigued by this observation. Could you explain a little?

[situationcritical]

I'd be the first to say x-tians were a pretty murderous bunch at the time of the inquisition, but walking into some of the mosques that used to be churches, and seeing the crosses over the doors dismantled or changed into other symbols by adding or taking something away created in me a feeling of spiritual disharmony. These places were dark and dreary mostly, and although the Blue Mosque was open and cathedral-like, there was something aggressive and oppressive there. Maybe it was the custom that no women were allowed to enter in - I am not sure. In the dank wetness of The Cistern I witnessed an accident where a child, maybe 3 or 4 fell off some stairs and split his skull open, the people around wailing, and there was no medical help. In the streets near the Nargile Bars and restaurants, packs of wild dogs growling and tearing at each other, avoided human contact at any cost. It was generally sort of godless. To me, (and I consider myself pretty attuned) it felt like the original spiritual purpose of each place was nullified, and there was no energetic flow. I am not muslim, and I'm not conventional x-tian either. The war of the two religions cancelled each other out I think - in terms of vibration. I experienced much the same feeling when I entered Notre Dame in Paris the first time - the vibe there was even darker than the Mosques of Istanbul.

[MajorKong]

Unless it's changed since I was last there I recall seeing quite a few (very attractive) young women on the streets. Often dressed in European fashions. I suppose they could have been European tourists.

[MarcusT]

Turkish women have been dressing just like any other "European" women for ever. Perhaps because they are European? Perhaps because Turkey is a secular democracy where women have had the right to vote for about just as long as they have had in America? Turkey where they have had a female PM? I am honestly troubled by the implications of your observations. I thought Turkey had done a better job advertising. NATO, G20, worlds 16th largest economy. Present head of the UN SC.

[MarcusT]

Its a pretty good bet that all the women you saw were "European" since you were in Europe.

[TJCole]

Yes of course it was built by Rome, not these Turks..

[MajorKong]

The Romans were great engineers.

Of course, the Turks knew a thing or two about artillery, which is how they ended up owning Constantinople.

[Forester]

If there are miracles, the fact that this building is still standing after all the earthquake and military mayhem, has got to be one of them.

[cliffhammond]

Actually, it was destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt I think twice.

[MarcusT]

Nope

[KIVPossum]

Everytime I go in that place I see a new marvel. Truely an amazing structure, with a rich history.

[nuclearmonkeys]

Was built in 537 BC...

Sigh.....

[stevensnell]

Hey, that was good planning, building a church 500 years before the birth of Christ...

[ToonMoene]

> Haghia Sophia, also called the Church of Holy Wisdom

Hmmm, Hagia Sophia *means* Holy Wisdom. It's Greek, look it up :-)

[Chauncey1186]

Actually, it should be A.C.E - After the Common Era. (B.C.E - Before the Common Era)

A.D and B.C. are no longer used in academic circles.

[LintLass]

Just C..E., not 'A.C.E.' It's the year 2009 *of* the Common Era, not two thousand nine years after it. :)

[kareemachan]

Why no photos?

[UncleJimbo]

The Byzantines had no cameras!

[StansDad]

funny how an icon of intellectual depravity is called the church of holy wisdom

[JaundicedEye]

As mammon2 quite rightly points out, Haghia Sophia was built in the sixth century A.D., not B.C.
And another error is this: "Experts would now work to uncover the second seraphim...." Seraphim is the plural form of the word 'seraph'. Suzan, dear, you certainly managed to cram in a hefty number of mighty egregious errors in such a short article.

[MarcusT]

:-)

[MajorKong]

The Haghia Sophia is truly impressive if you ever get the chance to see it.

[email]

I've been there. Its so overated. Nothing impressive about it. Sorry!

There are plenty of Palaces like Dolmapache that are far more impressive.

[chicagomike]

The first time my son -- then age 7 -- saw the Grand Canyon, he said, "Is that all?" He was as foolish as you. Hagia Sophia is one of the most impressive of all ancient buildings, and the fact that it still stands today is a miracle of architecture.

[MajorKong]

Maybe I'm just easily impressed. Here in Ohio we think a 100 year old house is "really old".

[email]

Even the Blue Mosque is far more impressive than the Haghia Sophia.

[MajorKong]

I've been inside the Blue Mosque and thought it was very impressive as well.

[citlali]

Sorry. It represents a major turning point in architectural engineering - the discovery and implementation of the 'dome on pendentives.' And before I hear a BFD from the Peanut Gallery, it is the development of that 5-pointed (penditive) arrangement to bear the weight stress of the dome that permitted the windows to be inserted around it, between the 5 weight bearing points on the rim of the base. Translation: this is the first domed structure constructed in such a manner as to permit the insertion of windows at the base of the dome, thereby allowing natural light to enter the structure.

That alone seems a pretty good reason to vist the Hagia Sophia. Her very bone structure beats the other 'botoxed-beauties' at the get go.

[maggiee]

Hear hear. Not to mention the large number of HUGE earthquakes this marvel has withstood through the centuries! To pooh pooh Hagia Sophia is just silly.

[piul05]

Thanks for the extra info!

[TigersEye]

That's interesting to know. Hagia Sophia has quite a history, I'd like to see it some day.

[militantlibrarian]

Thanks for your expertise. I hope someday to see it.

[UncleJimbo]

It was the worlds first great Dome! No one had ever attempted any thing like it before! It was the largest Cathedral for 1,000 years!